MacRumors

T-Mobile is planning to implement some changes to its "Jump" early upgrade program, according to TmoNews. The company has plans to nix the six month waiting period and eliminate limits on how often customers can upgrade their devices, but there's a caveat – under the new terms, customers must pay off 50% of their existing device costs before being allowed to upgrade. As with the existing program, device trade-in is also required.

Previously, customers could upgrade their phone twice per year after a six month waiting period, without a specific number of payments made on a device. T-Mobile would then cover the cost of the remaining payments, whereas now, the company will only cover 50% of the cost as outlined by a T-Mobile representative.

Whenever you're ready to upgrade, trade in your device and T-Mobile will pay your remaining device payments up to 50% of the device cost. There is no more waiting period or limit to the number of times you can upgrade per year.

For the entry-level 16GB iPhone 5s, a T-Mobile customer must pay either $648 or $27 a month with a $0 downpayment. Under the existing program, a customer could initially upgrade to a new phone after six months of payments, or $162. A subsequent, second yearly update could be even cheaper for the customer depending on the gap between updates.

Under the plan's new terms, customers will only be able to upgrade their phones after paying half of the cost of the iPhone 5s, or $324, the equivalent of 12 payments. To upgrade more frequently than once a year, customers will need to shell out additional cash to reach 50% of the device cost.

T-Mobile is allowing current Jump customers to be grandfathered in to the existing plan, which means they will be able to upgrade before paying off half of the device costs.

Along with implementing some changes to the way Jump works, T-Mobile is also adding tablets to the plan.

The changes to Jump will go into effect on February 23.

The official Apple Store app for iOS offers free books, apps and other content that users can download to their iOS device, and the company has recently updated its promotion to make Tetris [Direct Link] from Electronic Arts available for free.

The current Tetris offer is advertised as "A throwback for you. On us." Typically priced at $0.99 in the iOS App Store, the app is free when users redeem the promotion from within the Apple Store app. The program is designed to entice shoppers to use the Apple Store app and is different from the traditional App Store "App of the Week" sale, which is available to all App Store users and this week features the Max Axe [Direct Link] game from Naked Sky Entertainment.

The new Tetris promotion is being offered alongside a free book giveaway in the U.S. and other countries for Franklin's Valentines that has been active since the Valentine's Day store makeover launched late last month. The Tetris offer can be accessed from individual store pages in the Apple Store app, which are found by tapping on the "Stores" button in the bottom toolbar. The free app is listed in the middle of the page, directly underneath the company's "Love is in the Air" Valentine's Day sale.

The Tetris promotion expires on April 7, 2014 and is subject to availability.

Last month, it was reported that Apple CEO Tim Cook and Samsung Electronics CEO Oh-Hyun Kwon agreed to attend a mediation session on or before February 19 ahead of a second patent infringement lawsuit between the two companies set for next month. Now, ZDNet Korea [Google Translate] (via The Verge) is reporting that both companies met in the United States last week but failed to reach an agreement in their ongoing legal battle.

The report notes that Cook met with Samsung mobile division chief J.K. Shin to discuss a possible settlement, but did not make any significant progress towards a deal. Korean newspaper Choshun [Google Translate] states that Shin was originally expected to fly out to the United States next week before the court-imposed deadline on the meeting, but now has no plans to do so, indicating that the session has already taken place.

In late December, The Korea Times reported the two companies had resumed settlement talks in their ongoing negotiations over their patent-infringement dispute, as Samsung executive Shin Jong-Kyun was expected to meet with Cook. Previously, the Apple CEO met with former Samsung CEO Choi Gee-Sung in 2012 to discuss the subject, but talks fell through because Samsung would not accept Apple's demand for patent royalties. The two companies also met last year in Seoul, Korea but discussions failed to progress.

Notably, Shin was quoted in November 2012 as saying that Samsung has "no such intention" in settling with Apple over patent issues, as HTC and Apple announced that they had reached a global settlement on their patent dispute earlier that month.

The second patent infringement lawsuit between Apple and Samsung is set to begin on March 31, as Apple's Chief of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller will be among the witnesses. Samsung will only have four patents claims to bring to the upcoming trial, as Judge Koh invalidated two of its patent claims last month.

BlackBerry Messenger for iOS was today updated to version 2.0, adding a number of features to the app that have long been a part of the native BBM function on BlackBerry's own line of phones.

Version 2 of BBM for iOS now supports direct voice calling between BBM users over Wi-Fi or cellular networks. Channels, another feature new to the update, allow users to communicate in a group setting focused on a specific topic.

BBM Channels lets users chat with other BBM users about topics that interest them. Customers can join channels about a range of topics from products, hobbies and sports to entertainment, fashion, cars and more. Channels can be created by brands, businesses and BBM users alike and are a great way to communicate directly and immediately with people who share common interests in the broader BBM community. By posting to their channel, channel owners immediately reach their subscribers with a message that can spark discussions.

One-click sharing has been added to the app, making it easier for BBM users to share content like photos and voice messages. The app has gained support for Glympse, which allows users to share locations, and Dropbox support for file sharing is also available.

Finally, the app's emoticon repository has been expanded and users now have access to 100 additional emoticons.

BBM can be downloaded from the App Store for Free. [Direct Link]

Apple's Chief of Worldwide Marketing, Phil Schiller, will be among the witnesses that both Apple and Samsung lawyers plan to call to the stand when the two companies return to court in March, reports PCWorld. The second trial will cover newer products that were not able to be included in the first jury trial.

Phil Schiller was first called as a witness during the initial patent dispute between Samsung and Apple in 2012, and again in a damages retrial that took place in November of 2013. Schiller told the jury Samsung made it "much harder" for Apple to market and sell its devices. Samsung made it "harder for us to get new customers and bring them into our ecosystem," he said.

In the second trial, Schiller will be asked to testify on several different aspects of the iPhone, iPad, and iPod, including design, development, and marketing.

"Mr. Schiller will be called to testify regarding design, development, promotion, marketing, advertising, consumer demand for, and sales of the iPhone, iPad, iPod, and other Apple products, including the features accused of infringing the Samsung feature patents, the smartphone and tablet markets, the Apple brand and Apple's marketing and advertising efforts," Samsung said in a filing Thursday with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Samsung also plans to call Hiroshi Lockheimer, VP of engineering at Google, and Todd Pendleton, Samsung's marketing chief for its U.S. telecoms division. As for Apple, along with Schiller, the company expects to call Tony Blevins, VP of procurement; Gregory Christie, VP of human interface; Bruce Watrous, its chief IP lawyer; and possibly Scott Forstall, Apple's former SVP of iOS software.

Following the conclusion of the initial patent dispute that covered older devices from both Samsung and Apple and the subsequent damages retrial to redetermine a portion of the reward, Samsung was ordered to pay Apple $890 million.

This second trial covers newer devices, such as the Galaxy Note, the Galaxy S III, the Galaxy Tab 10.1, the iPhone 4/4s/5, the iPad 2/3/4, and the iPad mini. As with the former trial, both Apple and Samsung are accusing each other of patent infringement, and laid out a list of asserted patents earlier this month.

Apple CEO Tim Cook and Samsung Electronics CEO Oh-Huyn Kwon are scheduled to attend a mediation meeting ahead of the trial, but if an agreement is not reached, the trial will proceed in March.

Taco Bell is planning to roll out its mobile ordering platform nationwide later this year, according to a report from Nation's Restaurant News, an industry trade publication. Taco Bell has been developing its new mobile ordering app for two-and-a-half years, testing the platform at five stores in California.

A number of other restaurants have supported mobile ordering, including Chipotle, as well as pizza restaurants including Domino's and Pizza Hut. However, a quick-serve restaurant like Taco Bell provides a different type of service with much less customization and customers that expect prompt turnaround on orders.

The app will allow users to find their closest restaurant, display pricing specific to that location along with customized menu selections and more. Users will be able to use Taco Bell gift cards or stored credit cards, with orders flagged in the restaurant as from a mobile device. Then, the app determines the users' location to determine when they are near the restaurant and only then will it send the order to be prepared.

Workers will be challenged to maintain speed of service during peak hours, when restaurants are receiving a steady flow of mobile orders at the same time guests are lined up at the counter. However, [Jeff Jenkins, mobile lead for Taco Bell] contends that mobile ordering will help eliminate some of the drag caused by consumers with “menu board anxiety,” as well as improving accuracy. When ordering by smartphone, for example, guests can take their time deciding whether to add sour cream or remove the cheese without holding up the line. “It’s really more about convenience and customization,” he noted.

Taco Bell told NRN that it expects young Millennials, its primary customer demographic, will embrace the mobile ordering platform. NRN claims that 74 percent of consumers aged 18 to 34 said they would order takeout/delivery on a mobile device, if it were available.

According to Jenkins, Taco Bell's mobile lead, "Mobile is the biggest shift in QSR since the drive thru" and "if you can get 10 million people to download your app, you’re putting a portal to Taco Bell in 10 million pockets."

Taco Bell has an existing app, but the new mobile ordering is expected to roll out nationally later this year.

While some hints about the functionality of Apple's upcoming smart watch have surfaced through software leaks and the company's hiring of a slew of sensor experts, the design of the product still remains a total mystery.

It is unknown what kind of screen the device will have, how the band will work, and how it will incorporate the myriad sensors it is rumored to include. For that reason, a wide variety of concept images have been surfacing, ranging from the Nike Fuel-style band shared by Todd Hamilton to a new, thicker design concept shared today by Swiss industrial design site DesignerEI.

These concept images feature a wide band with a deeply curved screen that would wrap around the front and sides of a wrist. A home button is built into the band, while a metal clasp potentially houses some sensors.

The underside of the band houses a sensor that would be in contact with the skin, an important design element as many of the sensors that are rumored for the iWatch, such as the heart rate or hydration monitor typically require direct sensor-to-skin contact.

While the creator of the concept suggests the iWatch might be powered via kinetic energy, such a concept is unlikely to provide enough power to the device, which is said to be powered by standard lithium-ion batteries rather than motion or solar energy.

It is unlikely that the iWatch will take on such a thick and bulky design, but this concept does give a look at how various sensors might possibly be incorporated into the product.

Almost half of the consumers who buy a new smartphone are storing their older phone instead of recycling it in the used handset market, according to the "Mobile Mountain Study" conducted by research group OnePoll for resale site SellCell (via MarketWatch). These unused phones are worth almost $47 billion, with older iPhone models accounting for approximately $13.4 billion of these hoarded phones.

Though many people are storing their iPhones, some owners are taking advantage of the iPhone's strong resale value by trading them in. A SellCell survey from January 2014 shows that the iPhone 4 and 4S are among the most traded-in cellphones in the US. The most lucrative Top Ten trade-in is the 16GB iPhone 5s, which sells for an average price of $325. The 5s is followed by the Samsung Galaxy S4 16GB at $213 and the iPhone 5 16GB at $211.

The recycling of phones will become increasingly important as the smartphone market reaches its saturation point in the next few years. As customers switch from feature phones to smartphones, iPhone ownership is expected to increase to 68% by 2017 with customers acquiring phones from both new and used sources.

Rovio today announced a new version of its popular Angry Birds game after hinting about it yesterday on Twitter. The upcoming Angry Birds Stella features the "fierce and feisty" female lead character, Stella, along with her "friends and (fr)enemies."

Angry Birds Stella will open a door to a part of the Angry Birds universe you've never seen before! There will be plenty of fun and adventure, but the bunch of passionate pals will also have to deal with some serious issues in order to protect their friendship and the environment they live in. Luckily, Stella and her friends are good at finding creative solutions!

Angry Birds Stella is expected to launch sometime this fall on iOS, as Rovio is also expected to tie-in animations, books, toys and more with its new title.

Rovio has rocketed to success on the back of the original Angry Birds title for the iPhone, bringing the game to other platforms and producing a line of Angry Birds-branded merchandising.

Besides Angry Birds, Rovio has also released other titles such as Bad Piggies [Direct Link] and Amazing Alex [Direct Link] games.

Verizon today introduced its new "MORE Everything" plans, which offers up to double the monthly data for customers while also implementing doubled bandwidth, a complimentary 25GB of cloud storage, and unlimited international messaging.

The carrier is also offering discounts for customers enrolled in its Verizon Edge early upgrade program, as those with monthly data plans of 8GB of data or less receiving a line discount of $10, while others will receive a $20 line discount if their plans include 10GB of data or more.

The move comes in the midst of a marketing war between U.S. cellular carriers. Recently, AT&T launched lower-cost Mobile Share Value Plans for families and announced a new promotion to offer up to $450 in credits to customers that switch to it from T-Mobile. Meanwhile, T-Mobile launched its own program offering up to $350 in credits to customers that switch to its network.

Verizon also posted its results for Q4 2013 last month, stating that it had activated 8.8 million smartphones, down from 9.8 million smartphones in the year ago quarter. Notably, Verizon failed to announce sales numbers for the iPhone on its network, marking the first time that the carrier has done so since it began selling Apple's device in February 2011.